Easiest No-Sew Bibs

May 27, 2012 at 6:33 pm (tutorial)
Tags: bib, Clothing, diy, t-shirt, toddler

If you want to make adorable bibs for your little nosher here is a great tutorial I found at Sewingdork.blogspot.com. I mean look at ’em, what’s not to love?!

Unfortunately, I’m a slacker when it comes to sewing what is destined to be blackberry, sunflower seed butter and tomato sauce besmirched.  While I might let Eli eat in store- bought clothing when we are out of clean bibs, if he is wearing a mama-made item that day, at meal time he will suddenly find himself playing for the skins team.

This has been happening fairly frequently as with only 3 people in our household, he runs out of bibs between loads of laundry being washed.

Enter the t-shirt bonanza of 2010.

A  local t-shirt printing company advertised on Freecycle that they had a misprint order of 3 boxes of t-shirts to give away. I was just beginning to sew with knit material so I claimed one of the boxes. Oh my goodness, but I found myself awash in black t-shirts as the box contains I-don’t-know-how-many shirts… 50? 70? I don’t want to take them out of their tightly packed state just to count them and then not be able to store them again as neatly afterwards. All I know is that the box was quite heavy! Seriously, if you live locally (Orange County, CA)  and would like to share in the bonanza please contact me. If I were to endeavor to use all this fabric Eli would be quickly labeled “Goth” even at the tender age of 2.

Since I don’t use the front decal part of the shirt when harvesting fabric, using it for a bib makes perfect sense.

So here’s my tutorial for other people with an abundance of old t-shirts itching for a new purpose. As an added benefit you’ll find your dresser drawers easier to close! (Tell me I’m not the only lazy bum unmotivated person when it comes to articles of clothing destined for destruction.)

1. Cut a rectangle out of an existing unloved t-shirt long enough to cover the belly and a bit of the lap of your future fastidious diner. Include the neck band. Make as many as necessary to cover all meals between loads of laundry. (Save the rest of the fabric from the shirts for other projects. (Time investment: approximately 45 seconds. Use the rest of naptime to sew that pair of Treasure Pocket Pants or the Charlie Tunic you’ve been itching to make.)

2. Soil.

3. Wash.

4. Repeat.

Now if you want both sewing time dedicated to clothing you’ll be proud to see your little one wearing in public, and cute bibs as well (I admit, my bibs are way down there down there at the ugly end of the attractiveness spectrum), here are some wonderful bibs I found on Etsy:

from Sir Bubbadoo. Really hard to beat a woodland theme if your shooting for cuteness.

from The Posh Pea Boutique. We like just about anything giraffe around here!

From Down Home Amy. Love the quilting and the whimsical elephant!

So if you also find yourself short on bibs, go forth and cut, sew or buy!

Thanks for the visit!

Karen

I was featured!

Related articles

• Upcycling: Old T-Shirt to Apron/Bib/Smock – No Muss, No Fuss (and No Sewing!) (Video) (zenandgenki.com)
• appliqué boy bib tutorial and pattern (skirtastop.wordpress.com)
• :: bibbity bobbity bibs! :: (weewhimsicals.typepad.com)

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